Spring-Biased Pin Lock Fastener for Vibration-Resistant Reuse
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing locking fasteners, such as nylon locking nuts and Loctite screws, are unreliable in high-vibration environments and can be damaged during installation or removal, leading to loosening and loss of structural integrity, and are not easily reusable.
Innovation Solution
A pin lock fastener system featuring a fastener component with a torsion spring that biases a pin to extend and lock into a receiver structure, allowing for secure rotation restriction and easy reconfiguration between locked and unlocked positions, using an actuator cap to facilitate the pin's movement between locked and unlocked states without damaging the fastener.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional locking fasteners (nylon locking nuts, Loctite screws) are used, then locking function is provided, but reliability deteriorates in high-vibration environments and during installation/removal
Solution Approach 1:
The locking function is segmented from the fastening function. The pin lock mechanism operates independently from the threaded fastener, with the pin extending laterally to engage with a locking surface on the fastener receiver structure. This segmentation allows the locking function to be maintained separately from the fastening function, preventing vibration-induced loosening while preserving fastener integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
A pin acts as an intermediary locking element between the fastener component and the fastener receiver structure. The pin extends laterally from the fastener component and engages with a locking surface on the receiver structure, providing a mechanical intermediary that prevents relative rotation without requiring deformation of the fastener itself.
2Ease of operation
If locking fasteners are installed and removed, then fastening and unfastening is achieved, but construction integrity is damaged or irreversibly altered
Solution Approach 1:
The locking function is segmented from the fastener body, using a separate pin mechanism that does not require deformation of the fastener. This allows the fastener to be removed and reinstalled multiple times without damage, as the pin can be actuated to extend or retract without altering the fastener's construction integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The pin is made dynamically movable between extended and retracted positions through actuation. This dynamic capability allows the pin to be positioned to engage or disengage from the locking surface, enabling repeated installation and removal cycles without permanent deformation of the fastener component.
3Reliability
If pin is biased to extend outwardly, then locking engagement is secured, but pin actuation force requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
A spring provides a biasing force that counteracts the actuation force required to move the pin. The spring is configured to bias the pin in the extended locked position, so that the actuation force needed to retract or extend the pin is reduced by the spring's counteracting force. This maintains reliable locking engagement while minimizing the force required for actuation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The pin lock fastener maintains secure locking in high-vibration environments and allows for repeated installation and removal without damage, ensuring consistent performance and preventing loosening, while being reusable without the need for external thread lock materials.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic element comprising a torsion spring supported by the fastener component and operable to apply a biasing force to the pin
Implementation Method 2
an elastic element comprising a torsion spring supported by the fastener component and operable to apply a biasing force to the pin
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 2
AI summary
A pin lock fastener (100) comprises a fastener component (102) having an aperture (104) formed through an outer surface of the fastener component, and a pin (108) supported by the fastener component and slidable through the aperture. The pin can comprise a locking end portion to interface/lock with a pin lock feature of a fastener receiver structure. The pin lock fastener can comprise an actuator cap (114) rotatably coupled to the fastener component, and a torsion spring (112) can have a first end (154b) coupled to the fastener component and a second end coupled to the actuator cap (154a). The pin can be secured to the torsion spring that applies a biasing force to the pin in a normal locked position to restrict rotation of the fastener component relative to the fastener receiver structure secured to the fastener component. The pin lock fastener can be repeatedly used. Associated fastened assemblies and methods are provided.